


Decryption

by wakinguptoblue



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Awkward Romance, Cheery Hank, Confused Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Minor Markus/Simon (Detroit: Become Human), Minor Violence, Slow Build, connor doesnt understand anything, hanks a bit out of character but it's ok, lesbian north, markus simon connor josh and north are all best friends fight me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-07-06 06:55:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15880851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wakinguptoblue/pseuds/wakinguptoblue
Summary: Four months after Connor becomes deviant, things are settling down. Markus is off with Simon working out stuff with the president, he's back working with Hank and sniffing out criminals, but something has come up- a warm feeling in his torso. It's almost always blooming up when he sees Hank smile or do something silly. Connor has no label for it, so he's stuck with little knowledge about these feelings but at least he knows they're good. Or he hopes they are.(THIS FIC IS DEAD, DON"T EXPECT ANY UPDATES UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE)





	1. Clicked

**Author's Note:**

> I will be updating it every week on Sunday! I apologize if I don't keep up with that though! Also thanks to my best friends who are editors and the reason I started this fic! You two are amazing ily!

**_Nov 28th, 2038; 12:52 AM_ **

 

After Connor becoming deviant, he had become introduced to many feelings all at one second- it was like being shoved into an endless pit of fear, happiness, and confusion. He never knew that feeling would have such a big impact all in one second but after his encounter with Markus he didn’t have to question it anymore, he didn’t have to doubt any of the people in that room.

 

As soon as he escaped Jericho with everyone something brewed in his stomach, it wasn’t good. It made him terrified and honestly he might barf at the thought. Markus looked to him while they were hiding behind some dumpsters, he could tell Connor was thinking hard about something.

“Connor? Are you alright? Do you need something?” Markus dropped his hand onto Connor’s shoulder and patted lightly.

“...I believe I’m fine, I’m just really conflicted about something right now.” Connor covered  his face and curled up against the alley wall. 

 

One thing he wanted to know, the one thing that left him with no explanation- why was he so nervous to go back to being a detective? Surely Hank wouldn’t mind him being a deviant, he was hinting at him the whole time that it he was. 

_ Hank. _

Hank made him confused, Hank made him scared, the one person who he knew best made him scared to go back to working and to live the life as a person. 

_ No, this feeling is more than fear… _

“Hey, I know exactly what you’re feeling right now. It’s really hard to figure out at first but… I know you of all people will be OK.” Markus stood up and lent his hand to Connor. “Let’s go, we have people to protect.” 

 

And together, they went to protect all of android kind.

  
  
  
  
  


**_Mar 28th, 2039; 12:30 PM_ **

 

Connor was fidgeting at his desk, leg bouncing, twirling his shoelace, and biting the inside of his cheek.  _ Four months of being a deviant…  _ Connor thought, Hank who was sat across from him, looked up in confusion.

“Connor, you alright? Seems like you’re waiting for something.” Connor didn’t reply, he just kept eyeing down the door. His leg was like a damn vibrator at this point. Since there wasn’t any crimes to be looking into at the moment he must be just waiting for some pop-up to go off or something. “OK Connor you seriously need something to fidget with.”

“You took my coin Lieutenant, this is what I have to work with.” Connor said while pointing at his shoe, Hank rolled his eyes and threw him a cube of some sort, buttons and switches all over it. Connor pressed onto one of the buttons and looked at Hank with his eyebrow quirked up.

“It’s a fidget cube, they don’t make these much anymore but this one was from when I was younger. Keep it. It’ll help.” Connor had doubts about it but no point in not trying it, he continued to press into the cube and mess with the joystick on one of the sides. Surprisingly, he felt better now. He glanced at Hank who was grinning at him with satisfaction.

 

**Warning: Thirium pump overstimulated.**

 

Connor ignored it, that error always popped up when he saw Hank smile or laugh, or do anything that shows comfort. He had been a deviant for four months and he still doesn’t understand what this feeling means, he never told Markus or anyone about it. It felt embarrassing to talk about. He knew though that it was definitely a good feeling, it makes him warm and a bit shaken. Connor decides to go and grab a capri-thirium, a new drink made for androids who wish for a sweeter taste than a bitter coffee-like flavor. While he walks over to the fridge he sees Nines and Gavin fighting over  _ another  _ investigation, their bickering has been delaying many answers to cases as of late. Connor hopes this doesn’t continue for much longer. Right as Connor grabs a pack he hears a familiar voice in the lobby, he heads over to the entrance and sees Markus and Simon, holding hands while explaining to the receptionist why they need to be let in. As soon as Connor is seen by Markus he points at him while rushing his words. 

“See, he knows me! Please this is really important.” Markus begs, Connor waltzes over thirium in hand and waves off the woman. He leads them over to his desk, Hank waves to Simon and Markus, they wave back. 

“So, how may Hank and I assist you two?” Connor beams. He missed them and regrets not seeing them sooner.

“A night or two ago… North disappeared, she had moved in with us since she and her girlfriend split and  said she’d be back at around 11. She isn’t back and we  _ know  _ something is wrong, she doesn’t back down on a promise.” Simon says while squeezing Markus’ hand. Simon, Markus, Josh, and North all were very close, so Connor isn’t surprised when he sees Markus a bit teary eyed.

“Uh have you called her, looked in spots she’d be around, and met up with her ex? Those are all possibilities that-” Hank gets cut off.

“All of that. We really don’t know where she could be…” Markus sighs and leans onto his lovers shoulder. Connor couldn’t stand to see Markus like this, he is one of his only friends other than Hank. Connor looks over to Hank and gives him puppy dog eyes, Hank’s eyebrows draw in, he tries so hard to resist.

“OK fine! We’ll do it. Connor what did I tell you about using those fucking eyes on me?” Hank huffs, he swirls his chair around to the other officers on duty. “Hackl,  A, Callan, wanna help out with this? Missing android, brown eyes, amber blonde hair, she’s a WR400 right?” Hank asks Markus, he nods in response.

“Will do sir. A, go and make some posters and put them around the city, I’ll go and search around and Callan you can go and find some footage of where she could’ve been that night.” Hackl orders, they were the best trio for missing person cases.

“Connor, Hank, what will you two be doing?” A. asks while clicking the keyboard. Hank looks over to Connor.

“What do you feel like doing, kid?” Connor closes his eyes and digs through some percentages;

 

**Percentage of finding North if helping with posters: 35%, percentage of finding North if looking through camera rolls: 78%, percentage of finding North if you search nearby areas: 60%.**

 

“We should look through footage with Callan, we’ll know where she was last and have a higher chance of finding her, dead or alive.” Connor glances at Markus and Simon who are both crying silently. Connor sighs and stands up next to Markus. “I know we’ll find her, I won’t let you lose more of your people. Understand?” Markus looks to him and lets out a quiet sob, Connor hugs him tightly. 

 

**Sensors overloaded.**

 

“If you two aren’t busy, I’d like some more help searching. I’d understand if you couldn’t though.” Hackl smiles at them, Connor releases him from the hug and lets Markus answer. 

“I’ll definitely go, I’m assuming you want to help too Simon?” Simon nods, Hackl is about to leave when Callan shouts from her desk.

“Do you know where she had headed off to that night?” 

“She went to the club Hard Candy! It’s on Vermont!” Simon yells from across the room. She nods and goes to the archive room for the footage, Hank follows but Connor stays back to check in with A.

“You sure you’re OK with doing this job? It’s not very amusing.” Connor says while sitting on their desk. 

“It’s cool, I’m still contributing and I’m a bit more emotional compared to the other officers so this job is fine for me.” Connor nods in response, he gets up and heads to the archive room. 

  
  


**_Mar 28th, 2039; 1:01 PM_ **

 

Hank and Connor are sat in the corner of the archive room in silence while Callan worked, she was clicking away and updating them everytime she needed another tape. Connor was clicking the cube while his leg bounced.

“May one of you get me the next tape? I swear I haven’t seen her even enter the place yet.” Hank grabbed the next tape and tossed to her, she caught it flawlessly. Shoving the tape into the system she lightens up and turns to us. “I see her! She went in at 10:37 and…” Callan zooms in on Norths figure.

“What is it Callan?” Hank gets up and looks over her shoulder. Hank and her are both speechless, when Connor comes over he sees North being shoved around outside the club, eventually they take her to an alleyway a few blocks from there. You can barely hear her screams over the other people. 

“Could it be a kidnapping?” Callan wonders, Hank shakes his head. 

“Hard Candy is known for android violence, androids being left in alleyways with multiple parts missing. She must still be in that alleyway. Let’s go!” Hank stands up and pulls Connor with him. When they reach the main office he pulls A. out of their desk. 

“C’mon, we know where she is.” A. follows behind Callan and asks about the details. 

“Are we sure Lieutenant? We are jumping to conclusions and that’s-” Hank turns quickly to him, they are an inch apart. 

 

**Warning: Thirium pump overstimulated.**

 

“Even you know that that’s what happened, can we please just get going? I don’t want to let another fucking android die in front of me” Connor gulps, he feels the guilt of dying in front of him wash over. Somehow, he could feel every breath Hank let out and could see he really cares.

“Yes sir, should we contact Markus, Simon, and Hackl?” Connor says while pointing to the phone.

“I’ll call them, let’s just head over.” A. replies, they quickly pull out their cell and contact Hackl. They start talking when they enter the car. A. shoves the phone into their pocket and sighs.

“You told them?” Callan asks, they nod in response. A. rests their head on Callan for comfort-  _ They really don’t do this often, huh?  _

 

They enter the crime scene, the others got there before the people at the station did and found North badly beaten next to a pool of her own blood. Her eye was missing and her vocals seemed off too. When Connor saw what happened he immediately felt sick, when he saw Markus and Simon… they were horrified. Apparently Hackl had to pull Markus off of her because he wasn’t making her condition any better. Luckily, she was still working fine and just need to be repaired and have some of her parts replaced. She was in need of a lot of thirium,  good thing Connor carries it everywhere. While she was drinking it and being placed onto a gurney, Connor had asked about what the attackers looked like, what they wanted with her, etc etc. She gave them a good description of what happened and who they were which was very surprising due to her being so messed up. Simon and Markus (who were still recovering mentally) had decided to join her in the ambulance. Now Connor and Hank had some investigating to do...

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Repairs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted this chapter early because im having a good time !! thnk u for leaving kudos

**_Mar 28th, 2039; 2:08 PM_ **

 

“Alright Connor, let’s get diggin’.” Connor scans the area: 

 

**Thirium, moved dumpster, dead pigeon, dirt and trash.**

 

Connor stepped over to the thirium left by North, he got some on his finger and  _ licked _ . He could hear Hank grunt in disapproval but now he just really wants to make him grossed out. So he gets it all over his hand and  _ slurp _ . 

“What the actual FUCK Connor? That’s fucking disgusting, revolting, damn you and your fucking samples...” Hank gags and swears under his breath. Connor grins and wipes his spit onto his clothes. The thirium had been more recent and hadn’t faded away because North had been bleeding out. Connor crouched next to the dumpster that had also been next to North, the tracks show that it was moved to hide her body. Next to Norths blood was a dead pigeon, it had tried some of her blood and got poisoned. Then the dirt and trash… there was signs of struggle on Norths end, Connor dug through it and found… a note?

 

_ Death to androids! _

 

Connor stared at it in silence.

“Lieutenant, I have found a note from the attackers. It’s just to irritate us.” Hank comes over and scans it carefully, he nods. 

“OK, luckily North gave a good description. Let’s get these fuckers.” Hank smiles and pats Connors back. Connor smiles back and can feel something in his chest tighten.  _ Worry.  _

“Hank.” Connor says while Hank is about to enter the car.

“Yeah?”

“If something goes wrong, do not risk your life for mine.” Hank laughs, Connor looks at him quizzically. 

“You know we’ll both be OK, I’ll bet Sumo that not a thing won’t go wrong.”

  
  


**_April 2nd, 2039; 1:10 PM_ **

 

“Thank you for visiting Connor, it’s nice to have someone other than Markus and Simon. Heh.” North has a delighted expression plastered over her face. Her new eye has been adjusting to the new system so she’s been wearing an eyepatch, she looks cool though. Her face goes blank when she sighs, Connor rests his hand on her arm. 

“I’m sorry about what happened, the note that was left had been nothing. Your description though did help us identify them, we don’t really know what to do next.” Connors LED goes orange, North lets out a breathy laugh. 

“Connor, you and Anderson are doing your best. That’s all that matters, I would’ve been more angry if I was still stuck in that damn alleyway…” She rubs her right eye. “If you don’t catch them it’s OK, you put in effort. If you do find them though… beat their asses for me?” She smirks, Connor agrees. “Not to sound rude, but you could probably find them quite easily if you just go undercover. Pretend to be a bartender or whatever- it could work right?” Connors face lights up.

“We could! Me and Hank can be bartenders and have other officers disguised as well, good thinking North!” They high five.

“Finally I’m useful for once…” North laughs again but it’s not comfortable, she looks put off.

“Why would you say that? You have been a very important person to all your friends, Markus, Simon, Josh… I don’t see why you’d think so lowly of yourself.”

“It’s complicated Connor, I feel terrible for forcing Simon and Markus to live with me. As you know I recently had been broken up with and kicked out the apartment I was in and those two were my only option. Especially since Josh doesn’t have the best living situation either- I have been through that same pattern for little while now and I hate putting the two under more stress. They already have to negotiate with the president about android rights I just make it  _ harder _ .” North sighs and places her head into her hands.

“North, when you disappeared you have no idea how worried Markus and Simon were- they cried because they missed you. You may add something else in their lives but they might not see it as a bad thing!” 

“... For someone who hasn’t been a deviant for long you sure know what you’re talking about.” 

“Believe me I have no idea what I’m talking about.” North snorts at his comment and regains composure. They both relax into the sofa and turn on the TV. Markus and Simon are being interviewed- they get asked about romantic relationships, Specifically theirs. Markus explains some gestures that are important for them. Markus lifts Simons hand to his and presses his palm against Simons. The artificial skin disappears and they stare into each others eyes like they can see the universe. Connors LED blinks yellow when they do, North turns to him.

“Something wrong?” 

“No, I uh know we don’t each other that well North but… may I ask a personal question?” Connor asks.

“When I just spilled my feelings? You definitely can Connor.”

“This might sound weird? I don’t know if this is normal but I have this odd feeling when I look at Hank, it’s not bad but it just feels different. Do you understand?” North nods. “I like the feeling. I’ve had it ever since I deviated and I want to have a name for it. Do you know what it is?”

“I need more context, I can’t work off of just an ‘odd feeling’.”

“When he smiles at me or does something with Sumo my torso feels like it’s being shaken in a good way, and when he gets really close to me my circuits feel inflamed. Then my chest will tighten and I’ll forget to breathe when I don’t need to breathe. It’s very conflicting.” Connor rests his forehead on her shoulder. 

“That’s what you’d call a crush sweetheart, you feel like butterflies are swarming in your stomach and you feel dizzy… Have you turned up your sensitivity? It’ll really make you feel that stuff… MORE.” She pauses, thinking for a moment. “Wait you’ve felt this for  _ four months? _ Four whole months and you didn’t know what it meant, jesus christ Connor.” She laughs and messes up his hair. “Don’t worry, I’ll be your wingman.” 

“What’s that?” North laughs even harder, and wraps him into a hug. 

“I’ll help you get with Hank, you did save my life after all.” Connor hesitates to hug back but does anyway.

“North I don’t even really understand it, I don’t want to do anything when I’m still conflicted. Plus we’re still investigating what happened to you…” Connor lets out, North pulls away and fixes his hair. “I don’t want to start something while not understanding it.”

“Alright, but tell me if you ever need any help with that situation Connor.” North winks at him smiles again, this time Connor smiled with her.

  
  
  



	3. In Bars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK I might update two times a week? The second time won't be determined I just am having fun with this. Also please tell me any like android food puns i need them for later chapters ;)

**_April 3rd, 2039; 12:30 PM._ **

 

“OK, I have a plan for catching the attackers.” Connor says while sitting on Hanks desk, Hank looks up at him with heavy lids. 

“Already? That was fast. You’re like Sonic-”

“What is Sonic?” Hank gives Connor a blank stare.

“If you don’t know what I mean you don’t deserve to know.” Hank leans back in his chair and sips coffee from his mug. Connor watches Hanks left hand slide onto the armrest. He feels a bit taken aback, were they always… like… that? After turning up his sensitivity like North recommended- he noticed more things about Hank. Like right now Hank tied his hair into a bun which looked insanely good on him, why did it matter right now? Connor had no idea. “Connor, you gonna tell me about the plan or just gonna stare at me?” Connor blinked back into reality and nodded. 

“I take no credit for this, North thought of it. So how about we pretend to be bartenders? We’d have a good view of the situation and we can have other officers participate as well.” Hank nods.

“When will we do it?”

“Luckily this tends to happen once a week on a weekend. We might have to do it for a couple of days but it’ll be worth it, right Lieutenant?” Connor grins at him, Hank turns away and nods his head. 

 

**Hank Anderson - Heart Rate: 86.**

**Warning: Thirium pump overstimulated.**

 

Hanks heart rate goes up significantly, and Connors thirium pump is pulsing. Connor slouches a bit from embarrassment.  _ Why does the atmosphere feel so tense?  _ Connor opens his mouth to say something when-

“We-”

“Lets-” They both sit awkwardly again but now it’s even WORSE. 

“You may speak first, Lieutenant.” 

“We should go discuss this with Captain Fowler… Let’s go.” Hank gets up quickly and heads straight to him. Connor follows lagging a bit behind. 

 

“Are you two sure that it’ll work? We will have to negotiate with the club and also… I never assigned you to any cases that have to do with missing persons! If anything this should be Hackl, A and Callans deal, not yours.” Fowler barks, Hank flinches at the sudden sound and groans.

“Captain Fowler, I would really appreciate it if you would let us contribute. A close friend of ours has been affected by this and we wish to give her the comfort of her attackers being in the right place- away and in prison.” Connor says fixing his posture, Fowler sighs and nods.

“Alright, you two better not mess up.” Connor smiles wide and looks to Hank who is also smiling.

 

**Warning: Thirium pump overstimulated.**

 

**_April 7th, 2039; 10:10 PM._ **

“Lieutenant, are you ready to head out to our new job?” Connor asks, they’re getting ready to go. Sumo barks and lays on Connors feet. 

“Yup, let’s go-” Hank opens the door and sees Connor standing right in front of him. He won’t move. Connor looks flustered. “Are you malfunctioning?” 

“I am not sir, but I do have a problem.” 

“What?”

“Sumo is laying on me and I don’t want to move. I’d hate to make him uncomfortable…” Hank looks down and sees Sumo stretching himself on the floor keeping Connors  feet planted to the ground. He could either slide past Connor which would make for an uncomfortable situation or force Sumo to move.

“Sumo, up.” Sumo boofs sadly and heads back to his bed. Connor finally steps away for Hank and fixes his nametag. Hank grumbles and grabs his keys. “C’mon.” 

When they enter the bar, people already are crowding around the bar for drinks. Hank sits in the back cleaning glasses while Connor makes cocktails and mojitos. Connor can feel Hank watching him and turns to meet his gaze.

“Something wrong?” 

“Nothing, just wondering how you learned to make drinks in two days.” Hank laughs to himself.

“Well I can easily just-” 

“You don’t need to explain it.” They both go back to their chores. Connor scans the room every couple of minutes for any people resembling Norths attackers. Soon two familiar faces show up but they aren’t who Connor expects.

“Hey Connor! Long time no see huh?” Josh is stood in front of him with his partner Theo in his arms. 

“Oh hello to you too! What brings you here?”

“I could ask you the same question. Did you switch jobs or something?” Connor shakes his head.

“I’m on a case, North had been attacked recently. Hadn’t you heard?” Josh’s face becomes full of worry.

“She did? Jesus christ…” Theo rubs his back for comfort. “I knew I should’ve come back sooner.”

“Were you gone?”

“I was out on a trip yeah. Me and Theo wanted to get out of the city but… damn. Is she doing OK?” 

“She’s fine. Missing eye but it was replaced. You should visit her soon.”

“Will do, talk to you later.” Josh waves goodbye while him and Theo disappear into the crowd. Connor shakes off the recent conversation and continues with the drinks. Connor hears the tap turn on which definitely isn’t him, he turns and sees Hank drinking beer. 

“Anderson! You can’t drink on the job!” 

“Oh iss fine Connor! I’m sober enuff to catch them!” Hank says while struggling to get up. Connor sighs and carries him to a room at the back. 

“Sir, you must stay in here. I will be right back with a glass of water.” Connor closes the door behind him and rushes back with some water. “Please drink.” 

“Juss leave me alone pretty boy! I don’t need your help. Go do your job.” Hank pushes the water away.

“If you don’t drink this water I’ll force it into you. Don’t make me.” Connor threatens. 

_ “Connor! We found them, they’re heading for the bar. It’s your time to act.” _ Connor sighs.

“I’ll be back Hank.” Connor rushes out the door and to the bar, the men approach and Connor greets them. “What may I get for you?” They look to each other and smile.

“Two vodka tonics, make it quick.” Connor nods and turns to make them. Time to decide now.

**Percentage of capturing them by threatening with a gun; 18%, capturing them by asking Josh for help; 59%, capturing them by taking them outside yourself; 38%.**

When Connor gives them their drinks Connor calls Josh over. Connor asks him to start something with the men, Josh is hesitant but agrees for North’s sake. 

“Hey, I saw you eyeing down my partner earlier, care to explain?” The men look at Josh confused, but they won’t let him put them down.

“Why would we ever? We hate androids.” 

“Prove it.” Josh says while shoving them. They start pushing each other around until they reach the front of the club. Connor runs out and contacts the other officers, he nods to Hackl who had left from being the crowd watch. How was she able to hide handcuffs in an outfit like that?

“Romeo and Chad Smith, you two are under arrest for assault and murder.” Hackl comes up behind them and takes them both to her car. Connor watches them leave with satisfaction.

“Hey.” Josh says, he stands next to Connor and smiles.

“Thank you for doing that Josh, I really appreciate it.” Connor pats his shoulder and leaves when Theo comes over to check on Josh. Connor heads back to the room he left Hank in but finds Hank drinking from the tap again.

“Seriously Lieutenant? Again? Let’s go home.” Connor lifts Hank onto his shoulder, holding Hanks hand so he doesn’t drop him. Connors ears feel warm. 

“Connor iss free beer! Wouldn’t you drink it too?” 

“I cannot drink alcohol Lieutenant, it would mess up my systems.” Hank sighs. When they finally get to the car. Connor rests him onto the seat and buckles him up. Hank tries to grab Connors hand.

“Are you coming with me?” 

“I have to Lieutenant, I can’t have you playing russian roulette again.”


	4. Warm

**_April 8th, 2039; 12:23 AM_ **

 

Connor brings Hank inside, he threw up twice in the car- out the window and out onto Connor. Hank had been leaning on Connor most of the time while talking about nonsense. Connor carries Hank over to the couch and places him there, Sumo jumps onto Hank and licks him. Hank laughs and hugs Sumo.

 

**Warning: Thirium pump overstimulated.**

 

“I’m going to get changed, I’ll be back soon.” Connor heads to Hanks room and opens his closet. He won’t mind him borrowing a shirt right? Connor takes a t-shirt that’s way too big for him and places it on the bed while he removes his uniform. When Connor picks up the shirt Hank opens the door. “What’s wrong Lieutenant? Do you need to be assisted in something.”

“...No. I was juss lonely on the couch.” Hank walks over and hugs Connor tight. He hugs back but his insides feel on fire. Hank rubs his hand on Connors back.

 

**Sensors overloaded.**

 

“I need to put clothes on Lieutenant, I need you to let go. It’s for your sake.” Hank grunts and releases him. He wanders back through the hallway while Connor slides the shirt over him. When Connor comes back he sees Hank with another beer. Connor snatches it from him and gives him a disapproving look. 

“Connor pleaseeee. I’m thirsy.” 

“If you drink anymore alcohol you’ll be at risk for poisoning Lieutenant. I refuse to let that happen.” Hank groans while Connor puts it back in the fridge. 

“Why do you always have to call me sir and shit, it makes me saddd. Juss call me Hank for once.” Hank spits out while Connor settles himself on the couch. Connor passes the remote to Hank who turns on the news. Markus and Simon are there again, it’s the same interview he saw with North. Hank watches diligently while Connor watches Hank. His face is red and his body heat is off the charts. Connor sighs, he thinks about when Hank touched his bare back, it was warm and comforting but it the thought of it happening again made Connor shiver. Connor fidgets with his hair by pushing it back over and over again. At some point Hanks legs rested over Connor, wasn’t that uncomfortable, he at least could touch something other than his hair. When Connor rested his hands on Hanks legs Hank made a surprised sound.

“Something wrong Lie- I mean Hank?”

“Nothing… I’m juss tired.”

“OK.”

“Connor?”

“Yes?”

“How do robo dicks work? Like do you have anything there or are you like a fuckin’ ken doll.” 

“Uhm…”

 

**Warning: Thirium pump overstimulated.**

 

Connor stutters, how does he explain this? He wasn’t ready for this situation. “I do in fact, have genitals. Though they do not benefit me like they do humans. At least from I know…” Connor wants to  _ leave _ . He wants to lock himself in the bathroom until Hank sobers up and forgets. 

“Hm.” Connor looks down at Hank and sees him half asleep, his eyes are barely open. Soon after that Hank passes out on the couch. Since the couch is where Connor spends most of his time while Hank is asleep or away, he picks up the unconscious Hank and brings him to his room. He slides a blanket over him and right when he is about to leave, he has the urge to go back. So he does. Hank snores- it’s obnoxious in a cute way. Connor kneels next to the bed and watches every part of Hanks face move. It’s nice to scan him, it brings a warm feeling. He brushes a hair away from his eye and brushes his cheek. It was surprisingly soft. Connor wished Hank would hug him more, he felt completely covered and protected… he just wished Hank would hold him close. Not necessarily a hug but he wanted his hands to hold his hips and rest his forehead against his own. That’s all Connor wanted right now. Connor didn’t  _ get  _ it- why was this urge so strong? Why was it so overwhelming when it was just the two together? Why couldn’t he just ignore it and go back to how it was before he deviated… 

 

Oh. Right.

 

He had cut off those feelings then. 

 

He didn’t have to think about anything but his objective. 

 

What was his objective now? Amanda wasn’t there anymore, she had been the one keeping him on track. Maybe he regrets this- figuring out that he’s more than a machine. 

 

He couldn’t ever regret this, what was he thinking? He’s happier this way, he has Hank, Sumo, Markus, Simon, North and Josh… everything he cares about. 

 

Back to reality.

 

While Connor was in deep thinking he had rested his hand on Hanks head, combing through his hair.  _ So soft… what?  _ Connor felt warm again.

 

**Warning: Overheating.**

 

Connor jumps back. He needs to learn to control this, he doesn’t want to get burned alive by feelings. Maybe he could try showering…

  
  
  
  



	5. Dinner for two?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i might not update for a bit after this im trying to make chapters ahead of posting them if that makes any sense but if i dont update for a bit it's because of school and my chapters are getting longer. hope u enjoy xoxo

**_April 8th, 2039; 11:25 AM._ **

 

Hank wakes up to Connor above him, he pulled off his covers and opened the blinds.

“Connor what did I say about waking me up before 1:00 on the weekends? Especially when I have a hangover… fucking hell.” Hank turns onto his stomach and groans. He hated it when Connor did this.

“I just came to wake you up for breakfast. It’ll help, c’mon.” Connor lends his hand, Hank accepts. The smell of bacon fills the whole house, it’s kinda annoying but whatever. Ever since they’ve lived together Connor has been learning how to cook, it’s funny when he fails but nice when you know he’s trying really hard. Connor wouldn’t have ever bothered if he wasn’t with Hank. When they enter the dining room Sumo boofs at Hank and trots over for affection. Hank sits and scratches Sumo and gives him lil kisses on the forehead. Connors insides feel like they’ve swelled up, Connor turns to save himself from embarrassment. While Connor fills a glass up with juice Hank gets up and lets Sumo out for the bathroom. Connor places the food on the table then lets Hank eat.  _ What to do?  _

“Hey Connor?”

“Yes?” 

“You should have some too.” Connor looks back to Hank in confusion. 

“What do you mean?”

“You should have some food, it’s good.” Hank wiggles his fork at him and laughs. 

“You do know I cannot eat human food. It will clog up my systems.”

“But you can drink?”

“That can be used as fuel, but I cannot digest like you can.” Hank frowns and continues to eat. Now it’s weird. Oh geez. “Hank, I apologize if I ruined your fun. I am really bad with these things if you couldn’t tell.” Hank sighs.

“It’s alright, I should’ve known. Wanna go walk with me and Sumo?” 

 

They are at a park, people are jogging and playing with their children outside since spring has been in full force. Hank and Connor sit and watch as Sumo bumbles along with the other dogs. The air feels clean and fresh for once. Connor takes as much air in as he can, he wants it to be this weather all the time. Hank has been staring at the sky for a while now, clouds pass by on occasion but it isn’t anything special.

“How are you doing Hank?” Connor turns to him, Hank looks to him.

“I’m fine, just thinkin’, it’s one of those days.” Connor nods. Connor wished he could breathe, he can recreate it but it’ll never feel like he’s alive. He would do anything to feel like a real being, not just a program that turned rogue. To Hank that’s probably all he is…

“Hank, what’s it like to breathe?”     

“Shouldn’t you know? You could recreate it right?”

“I can, but it wouldn’t be the same…” 

“Well uh… when you take in air your chest tightens, then when you let it out you feel loose. It’s weird.”

“Does it feel nice?”

“I guess?”

“Hm.” Silence. The birds can be heard in the distance.

“Why do you care? It isn’t anything special.” 

“Well you’ve known it all your life, I will probably never understand it.” Hank looks to Connor with worry spread across his face.

“I’m sorry Con, but just so you know, you aren’t missing out on anything fun.” Hank rests his arm on Connors shoulder.

 

**Warning: Thirium pump overstimulated.**

 

_ Con? That’s new…  _ Connor feels warm again, and happy. Sumo barks at another dog who ran up to him and scared him, Sumo tries to tackle him.

“Sumo! Bad dog!” Hank runs over and heaves Sumo off of the other dog and apologizes to the owner. He clicks the leash back on him and comes back to Connor. “Ready to go back?” Connor smiles and nods. Then they go home for a nice nap.

 

**_April 8th, 2039; 4:00 PM._ **

 

Connor and Hank are sat together watching the history channel, Sumo is sat in between them. Hank will mutter mocking remarks about how inaccurate it is from time to time, Connor will agree just to please him. Connor checks the time, he should start making dinner… As soon as he stands Hank interrupts with the yank of an arm.

“Nuh uh, I’m not making you cook tonight.”

“But Hank, you need to eat. And I have nothing better to do.”

“We could go out to eat.”

“I’m not letting you eat more fast food.” 

“No no. There’s a new restaurant that has opened, and they have android food options. It’s pricey but I want you to eat something for once. Instead of watch me eat from the corner of the kitchen...” 

“If you insist, but I probably will not eat.”

“I’m going for you Connor, you  _ have  _ to eat.” Connor sighs, no point in arguing about it.

“Fine…” 

“Fuck yeah.”

 

They pull up to the restaurant, it has neon blue lights that illuminate the block. In the corner of the front window there’s a sign;

_ Couples Discount! Get 20% off your meal!  _ Hank seemed to have noticed it already and turned to Connor.

“OK, you saw the discount sign right?”

“Yes. I’m assuming you want to pretend to be a couple to get a discount?” Hank nods, Connor feels flustered. His face feels like it’s burning. “Uhm, OK. What should we do?”

“Hold hands? We don’t have to do anything dramatic or eye catching. Of course we don’t have to if you’re uncom-”

“Nope! I can work with this.” Connor tries to smile and hide how rattled up he is.  _ We’re basically on a date…  _ Connor feels his systems rile up. Many warnings pop up but Connor swipes them away. He steps out the car and comes over to Hanks side, he holds out his arm for Hank to hook onto. Hank looks surprised but rolls with it. When they get to the entrance Hank slides his hand into Connors. 

 

**Warning: Thirium pump overstimulated.**

 

His hands are extremely rough compared to Connors, it makes Connor feel electric. 

“Hello, table for two?” The waitress asks, Hank nods and they get led to two seats next to the window. It was pouring but it was nice to analyze the raindrops. They sit across from each other, they both stay silent but eventually Hank reaches for his hand and squeezes it. Connor tries to keep his composure and sighs.

“You doing alright? You look out of it.” 

“I am fine Hank, no need to worry about me.”

“I think I have every right to worry about you, especially when we’re out for dinner.” Connor almost breaks Hanks hand he’s so freaked out, they were out to dinner! Together! But it isn’t real, he’s only doing this so he can get a discount for the food…

“Hello again, I’m Lila I’ll be your waitress today!” She places down two different menus. “This is the android menu, and this is the human one. Do you two have any ideas for drinks yet?” She smiles at Hank.

“I think we’ll take a look through the menu first thanks.” 

“No problem, I’ll be back soon.” She runs off to other tables. Connor swipes through the drink options, they seem to make thirium alcoholic beverages, sadly capri-thirium isn’t an option here...  

“Can’t choose?” Hank asks, Connor nods in response. “Why don’t you try the Bloody Blue? It sounds good.” The waitress approaches, she has a notepad and a smile glued to her face. 

“Alright, I’m assuming you two know about our couples discount. People only really come here for that haha. So you’ll be getting 20% off your meal, now what drinks will I be getting for you?” She looks to Hank, her smile gets more stretched every time she talks.

“Oh I’ll just have a beer, and he’ll have a Bloody Blue thanks.” Hank grins and hands her back the drink menus. 

“Thank you, I’ll be back!” She heads back to the kitchen.

“Are you sure we should be getting drinks the night before work? I do not wish for you to have a hangover tomorrow.” 

“No no, I’m not getting drunk tonight. You will be.” Hank smirks. 

 

**Warning: Thirium pump overstimulated.**

 

“But that could ruin my systems!”

“Shhh, you’ll be fine. They’ve tested out this stuff and you should be working fine.” Connor pouts. “Plus I wanna be the one scolding you for getting knocked up this time.” Hank chuckles while Connor pulls out his fidget cube. “Awe Connor don’t get all silent on me.” Hank leans in and holds Connors free hand. Connor struggles to ignore him.  _ Don’t move just look at the ceiling, name all the components in concrete.  _ Then he feels a hand on his cheek. “I’m buying you dinner it’d be rude to be mad at me for wanting you to have fun.” Hanks says with his face close to Connors.

 

**Sensors overloaded.**

 

“Woops! Sorry to interrupt you two but here are your drinks!” She comes back and places the beverages down. “Now, for food.” 

“Oh, I’ll just have a steak. Connor?” 

“Uh, I’ll try the noodles.”

“Anything else?”

“I believe not.” 

“Be back soon boys!” She scuttles off again. Hank sips his beer while Connor analyzes it. Just in case it has something harmful.

“Oh c’mon Connor just try it already, you will be FINE.” Hank slides the glass closer to Connor. The door to restaurant opens and Markus and Simon emerge. Connor, who is staring with alarm, tugs Hanks cuff while pointing at the two.

_ “What are we going to do?” _

_ “I dunno!”  _ They whisper to each other, the couple come over to their table.

“Hank! Connor! You two are together?” Simon asks with surprise, Markus smiles at Connor. 

“Actually-”

“Yes! We are.”

“That’s wonderful! I should’ve known by the way you two look at each other.” Connors insides burn.  _ How do we look at each other? Does Hank? No, he’d never. _ Connor coughs. “Why haven’t you two said anything?”

“We had not thought of sharing it with anyone, we didn’t want it to disturb our work or social standings.” Connor says with confidence. 

“That’s understandable, don’t worry, we’ll try not to say anything. No promises.” Simon winks at Connor. 

“Haha, right. Well you two should go get a table, you came here to  _ eat  _ after all.” Hank says with a fake grin plastered on. 

“It was nice seeing you two!” Markus waves goodbye with Simon leading them away.

“Oh my fuckin’ god, why didn’t I think this through!” Hank stresses.

“Why did you lie to them? They would’ve understood the situation.”

“I didn’t want the waitress to find out, she’s like a hawk…” Hank sighs and rests his forehead on the table. “Sorry for lying to them like that… ugh.” 

“It’s fine, we don’t see each other that often anyway I’m sure no one will find out-” Connor gets a message from North.

 

_ North: You and Hank?? Ur a thing?? Simon just told me! Happy 4 u xox. _

_ You: I need to talk to you later, in private. _

_ North: O, alright. Smth wrong? _

_ You: Yeah. That’s for later though. _

 

“Who was it?”

“North found out… Seriously Simon!” Connor feels on fire, he can’t think properly. “I think I’ll tell her the truth, she’d find out quickly anyway.” 

“You two are like… best friends.” 

“Why would you assume that?”

“You two hang out all the time, and you tell eachother everything.”

“Is that a bad thing? It’s not like I can tell you anything, I wouldn’t want to put more weight onto you.” Hank sighs and stares at his beer.

“I didn’t mean to sound bitchy. Just know you can talk to me whenever, Con.” Hank smiles at him, Connor has the urge to kiss him.

 

**Warning: Processor malfunctioning.**

He doesn’t want to make Hank uncomfortable. “You OK? You look scared.” Hank lightly holds his hand, he makes rough circles on his artificial skin. It only makes Connor more overwhelmed. Hanks eyebrows furrow. 

“I-I’ll be back in a minute.” He runs off to the bathrooms, he knows he doesn’t need to use it, but he just wants to hide. He opens the stall door and closes it behind it. Notification after notification pops up, all of them errors. Then one pops up that says North’s calling. He answers.

“Hey, what’s going on? You said we needed to talk?” She asks, Connor sniffles and lets out a big sigh. “What’s wrong? I’m sorry I can hang up if you need me to…” 

“No please don’t. I am so stuck, North.” 

“With what? You’re dating Hank! The guy of your dreams.”

“We aren’t dating, we’re at the new android restaurant because he wanted me to try food and there was the couple discount then Markus and Simon came in! I-”

“Yo slow down dude. So he took you to the new restaurant and then you two faked that you were dating so that you could get a discount, then those two saw you? Why didn’t you say that it was fake?”

“Hank didn’t want the waitress overhearing…” Connor can feel tears.  _ Why is this making me cry?  _ North laughs. “What?”

“You really dug yourself a hole here kid. Sorry for laughing it’s just a concept I never thought you’d get into. I promise you’ll be OK, you get to schmooze with your little crush. That doesn’t sound too terrible.” 

“I don’t want to make Hank uncomfortable! We just came here as friends! Now it’s gonna be even more awkward than it was before!” Connor exclaims. 

“What was awkward before?” 

“So we were trying to make it seem like we were actually dating and he came really close to my face at the table and… he had his hand on my cheek…”

“Connor oh my FUCKING god. You’re so oblivious, damn. It isn’t that hard to pretend to be a couple, holding hands would’ve been convincing enough. But  _ that _ , that’s not something you pretend to do.” 

“What?” 

“Oh my god, you need to figure this out yourself hun. Good luck.” She hangs up.

“Wait North! Dang.” Connor leans against the stall door.

“Hey Con? You OK in there?” Hank asks, he’s right next to the stall he was in. Connor bursts out and tries to keep his composure. 

“I’m OK, when did you come in?” 

“I just heard you talking to North and saying what.” 

“OK good.”

“Did you tell her?”

“Yeah.”

“At least someone knows.” 

“Yeah…”

“Lila brought our food, let’s go.” He grins and hooks his arm with Connors.  

  
  



	6. Home

**_April 8th, 2039; 6:34 PM._ **

 

They left the restaurant with Connor shit-faced and Hank too sober to deal with him. Connor could barely stand up straight and his LED whirred from blue to yellow to red, Hank was  _ extremely  _ scared that he might’ve broken his roommate. Connor only had a couple of drinks, but because he’s a total lightweight it hit him harder than Hank was expecting. So now Hank is carrying a drunk Connor over his shoulder and struggling to get out his keys, Sumo’s barking from the other side of the door. It isn’t helping that Connor keeps resting his face on Hanks neck and lowkey kissing it. It was driving Hank nuts!

“Connor please not right now I need to get out my keys.” Hank asks, Connor laughs. “What?”

“They’re right hereee Hankkk.” Connor laughs even harder at Hank when his expression goes from stressed to angry.

“Gimme that…” Hank swipes them away and finally unlocks the door. Sumo whines, worried that Connor might be hurt.

“I’m OK Soomo, my systems are just… uhg…” Connor falls to the ground, Sumo jumps onto him and bombards him with licks. “Stooppp doggy.”

“Sumo, up.” Sumo boofs and wanders off. “Alright, we’re getting you into pjs and you’re having a shower. C’mon.” 

“I don’t even need to shower! I’m not covered in puke.” Connor says, it’s not puke but he’s all sweaty? Can androids sweat? Who knows but Hank does not want Connor waking up worrying about what happened.

“Just… please Connor. We have work tomorrow.” Connor groans and heads to the bathroom. Hank goes and grabs a towel and some fresh clothes and when he enters the bathroom… He sees Connor struggling to get out of his button down, he’s trying to slide it over his head instead of unbuttoning it. “God Connor just come over here.” Hank places down the clothes and towel to help Connor. He unbuttons it and sees his chest. It’s not like he hasn’t seen it before but now that they have to fake their relationship it’s all… awkward. Hank realized his feelings for Connor when he saw him again, the snow covered every surface and there was Connor. He stood out. Then they hugged and Hank felt warmth bubble up in him again like it did when he was in highschool. 

Hank didn’t really understand why it came back for Connor, but he wasn’t gonna complain. Connor was  _ extremely _ attractive, the person who designed him had amazing taste in guys. Connor typically isn’t his type, he’s more into guys like himself but have a more positive attitude but Connor… ultimate twink. Now that he has a full view of his chest, whilst on sorta romantic terms, it was very intimate. He wasn’t going to take advantage of him when he’s so vulnerable, he wouldn’t want to ever hurt him, nothing wrong with appreciating it while he can. It still felt wrong.

“You can do the rest yourself, right?” 

“I don’t think… I can.” Connor says with his fingers fumbling with the shirt. Hank undos the rest for him. 

“I’m gonna rest on the couch, please shower.” Hank leaves and shuts the door behind him. His heartbeat was off the walls and he just needed to cuddle up on the couch with Sumo. Maybe watch some nature documentaries. That sounds good.

**_April 8th, 2039; 7:30._ **

 

Connor stepped out the shower, feeling the cold air after being boiling for the past hour. He looked to the pile of clothes on the floor, it’s a bit glitchy since he’s still out of it. He struggled slipping on the clothes that had been left for him but got them on soon enough. A giant purple t-shirt and a pair of boxers, Hanks clothes were always so comfortable. Connor breathes in the scent of Hank, many popups about what is contained in the shirt come into view but all he cared about was how comforting it was. He’d put this under the list of things that reminded him of home. He never put a pinpoint for home, people could say it was wherever Hank was, or Hanks house, or the station. He didn’t want to label it, but his program did so anyway. 

 

**Home Set: Hanks House.**

 

Whatever. Connor steps out the bathroom, he feels sick and giggly still. He walks over and plops himself next to Hank on the couch. A huge popup covers the majority of his vision;

 

**Cuddle Hank.**

 

That was his one objective, at least that’s what his drunken programming could think of. Anything for his objective right? Connor snuggles up to Hank, and with much surprise he doesn’t react. No signs of discomfort or struggle. Maybe he does have a chance.

 

He can’t believe what is happening, Connor, cuddling up to him after a shower. Who cares if he was in there for way too long, Connor who is fresh and in clean clothes and smells like his vanilla shampoo was cuddling him. Connor had his arm snaked around Hanks waist and his face pressed into his shoulder. You could still smell the alcohol on his breath though, it was sweet and when Connor finished one drink his whole tongue was blue. Similar to a slushie. Hank missed hanging out with all his friends outside a 7-11 with blue slushies. Those days were some of the most memorable, he’d gladly replace them with Connor though. Connor pressed his cheek harder onto his shoulder, kinda burying himself into his shirt which was… weird. He stretches out one of his legs and brushed against Hanks foot.  _ OK what is this kid trying to do?  _

“Hank. Can we change the channel?” 

“Uh yeah, sure.” Hank skimmed through the channels until he landed on a romantic comedy, nothing that intriguing other than it including an android as the main character. Connor hummed happily. 

 

Connor was knocked out, he wasn’t waking up anytime soon.  _ I don’t want him to sleep on the couch like this…  _ Hank decides to carry him to his bed. When he rests Connor there he drapes a warm blanket over him and then… kisses his forehead. 

“I don’t get why I like you so much, but damn I wouldn’t have it any other way…” 

  
  
  


**_April 9th, 2039; 7:00 AM._ **

 

Connor wakes up with a terrible feeling in his skull, like he was being stabbed repeatedly in one spot. He also wakes up in Hanks bed, but he really wasn’t sure that he was since his vision is a bit blurry from just waking up. He really doesn’t know what went on the night before, after leaving the restaurant it’s all blank. The door opens, Hank’s stood in the doorway with grin. 

“Mornin’ sleepyhead.” He says while messing up his hair even more. Connor quirks his eyebrow up in confusion. “Ah right, you don’t have any clue what you did.” Hank smiles even wider, what he did?  _ Did… I sleep with Hank? AND I DON’T REMEMBER? AND I WAS DRUNK?  _ Connor gives a panicked look and runs to the bathroom, he picks up the clothes that he assumed were from the night before and tries to put them on but then he forgets to close the door.

“GAH!” 

“What? It’s not like I haven’t seen you without clothes on before.” Connor slams the door shut and feels burnt again. 

 

**Warning: Overheating.**

 

Connor splashes water on his face and stares into his reflection. His hair is a tangled mess, he looks more exhausted which makes no sense, and he’s wearing Hanks clothes.  _ OK Connor, did through your memory banks and try to find SOMETHING that could lead to you and Hank… doing that.  _ He scans, nothing. With a disappointed sigh he sits on the floor and massages his temples. He really doesn’t remember… His torso gives a gut wrenching feeling when he thinks about it. Like he really did something regrettable, which he did. But it still feels terrible, he wished he could throw up. Does that mean that they were dating? Or was it something that they weren’t going to talk about? Only if he could read minds.

 

Hank kinda feels bad for convincing Connor that they did something related to sex last night, well he never mentioned sex, but that’s up to Connor to figure out. Hank sits at the dining table with a bagel and coffee, he sips thoughtfully. Maybe he should tell him? 

Whatever, he doesn’t know so why say anything?

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	7. Raindrops

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is really short, im very sorry for not updating on time too. schools been tiring and ive been making more chapters that are developing some stuff and it's been the only thing i feel like i can focus on. the next chapter is gonna be big sad just so u know :)

**_April 9th, 2039; 10:25 AM._ **

 

Hank spins around in his desk chair while whistling. His mood was very bright compared to how it normally is, Connor smiled knowing Hank felt OK. But then he went back to trying to figure out what had happened the night before, he hated not knowing anything. It put a lot of stress on his systems. Hank who has seemed to notice stopped spinning and leaned forward. 

“Are you still thinking?”

“What else would I be doing Lieutenant? There’s no cases right now and plus I’d prefer to solve this predicament you’ve put me in.” 

“Cute.” Hank mumbles. 

 

**Warning: Thirium pump overstimulated.**

 

“Sorry, did you just say I was cute? That’s very sweet of you sir.” Connor grins. Then he goes through his memory banks for the 500th time in a row, right when everything gets fuzzy, he notices something. The TV, his head on Hank’s shoulder…  _ Oh… I remember that.  _ He feels warm again. “Hank did you lie to me?” 

“Ah you finally figured it out, nice job kiddo.” 

“You let me cuddle you!” 

“I did NOT! I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“I woke up in your bed.” 

“You were conked out, I’d know what it’s like to have a bad sore from sleeping on the couch drunk.” 

“Still.”

“...” 

“We should discuss this later.”

“Agreed.” Hank goes back to spinning in his chair while Connor breaks out the fidget cube, twiddling with the joystick. Connor thinks about it again, leaning on Hank and holding him close, feeling him flinch when something startling happens on the TV. Luckily he could recreate the feeling, it was so cozy, and he felt safe. Connor sighs and leans back. The feeling repeating over and over again…

 

**Warning: Sensors overloaded.**

**Warning: Overheating.**

 

Connor swipes them away, he wishes he was  _ there  _ for it, but if he were sober he would have never made a move. The silence between them wouldn’t be there, they’d be off in their own worlds. It would be like right now but instead right now… they are thinking of each other. God was this is complicated. Connor just wants to get everything out the way and for Hank to hold him with his lovely scarred hands and cuddle for the next million years. There was something else too, but he couldn’t understand that yet either. He just wanted Hank’s hands all over him, every inch covered. He sighs. 

“Pff, your android broken or something? He’s making all sorts of noises while lookin’ at you.” Gavin whispers to Hank.

“Shut up, you n’ yours are no better Gav.” Gavin scoffs and stomps off. 

“What did he say?”

“Nothin’ important. I do have a question.”

“Yes?”

“What are thinking about? Whatever it is, sounds nice.” He winks. 

 

**Warning: Overheating.**

 

“Uh, it’s nothing of importance right now Lieutenant. It’s just ideas.” 

“Will they be important after work?”

“Only if you really wish to discuss it, Hank. But it is very embarrassing.”  

“I think I’ve got time.” 

“Well, you know what, I do not wish to talk about it sir. You’ll have to bribe it out of me.”

“How so?”

“Can you two shut up already? God…” Gavin yells from the breakroom, him and Nines are sharing a coffee. “I swear, if those two don’t stop phking flirting with each other I might puke.” 

“But detective, we are no better than they are.” 

“We aren’t gonna have this conversation.”   
  
  
  
  


**_April 9th, 2039; 4:45 PM._ **

 

They are on the drive home, Connor is analyzing raindrops while Hank stares blankly at him. Hank has been acting more on impulse lately, like when he flirted with Connor at work, and when he let Connor cuddle him. He really shouldn’t, it gets himself excited and hopeful about maybe being in a relationship with Connor. Even if the possibility is too far out there to happen, Connor has just been taking over his mind, all the stuff they would do together if they were to date. Hank would take him to the movies and see all the newest bullshit love stories and make fun of it with him, then end up doing similar things as they would. He wanted to take Connor to all the old parks and malls he went to when he was younger with all his old girlfriends and boyfriends. He wanted to relive everything with Connor there instead of people who ended up hurting him. 

Maybe Connor will hurt him, maybe Connor will find out he likes him and be disgusted? Who wouldn’t, an old sad man full of leftover trauma and a drive for suicide. No one would want to bother fixing someone like him, he might even make Connor feel like it’s his fault. He doesn’t want to manipulate him, or let him near all the things that made him lose it all. He can’t.

He can’t let Connor love him. 

 

Connor continues staring at raindrops, minerals from multiple lakes and rivers pop up. All the things he can learn from one drop… so amazing. He couldn’t help but have Hank on his mind, he wished he could learn everything about him. Like with the drops, so much in one person. All the things he loves, all his most enjoyable memories, all his saddest ones. So much for just one being… 

Connor without thinking grabs the man’s hand, squeezing it tight. Hank jumps from the sudden contact but squeezes back.

 

Why does he have to do this to me?


	8. Don't love me back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for posting late again!! my depression has been kicking my ass lately and im extremely sick. sorry for this chapter being so sad i just felt like there needed to b more development yknow. anyway tomorrow ill have time to write since im probably staying home, thank you for reading!

**_April 9th, 2039; 5:20 PM._ **

 

Hank rushed out the car as soon as they pulled up.  _ He held my hand, not for any reason…  _ He juggles his keys and as soon as he opens the door he speed walks into the bathroom. He slams the door behind him. His heart beats rapidly, as if he ran a marathon. 

“God dammit.” He rests his face in his hands, he can’t do this anymore.

 

When Hank ran into the bathroom Connor sat on the couch, worried. Sumo plopped on his lap and licked his hand, begging for affection.

“Sumo, do you know what’s wrong with Hank?” He says as he buries his face in the dog’s fur. “I don’t know how to help.” Then, Hank opens the bathroom door. His whole face just radiates sadness right now. He goes to the fridge and opens it, grabbing a beer. He comes over and sits with Connor and Sumo, half of the beer is already gone. Connor sighs and gets up to make dinner. There’s only eggs, rice, and soy sauce. “Hank, is fried rice OK for dinner tonight?” 

“Yeah.” Hank puts his empty beer down on the coffee table, Sumo curls up to him.

 

After Hank eats dinner, he says he’s going to bed early. His voice sounded shaky, and his heartbeat was all over the place. Even though Connor really wanted to ask what’s wrong, he didn’t since he wanted to avoid messing up things right now. When Hank left for the bedroom Connor started washing the dishes. Scrubbing the plates and pots one by one. When he finished he went through the rest of the house, picking up trash and old beer bottles. He vacuumed too, knowing Hank was a heavy sleeper. When he finished, he admired his work. House almost spotless, other than the dog hair and Sumo’s bed, that was for another time. It was about a quarter past six, too early to shut off his systems. What else could he do? Connor looked over a bookshelf, a small journal was hidden among many old stories and yearbooks. When he opened it, he saw Cole. A polaroid, with the date of when it was taken and some hearts. The next page… was a suicide note. 

 

_ I know this probably not what you wanted, Cole. But this is all I have, a gun, a beer, and all the memories I had of you. I wouldn’t want to die with anything else, I miss you so much, kid. If only I could relive everything we did, maybe I could’ve saved you from him… _

 

Connor couldn’t read anymore of it, tears welled up and dropped onto the page. It had been dated only a couple of months before Connor had met Hank. Then, he heard the sound of someone cocking a gun, and sobbing.

 

_ All I have is a gun, a beer, and all the memories I had of you. But now I have more reason to die. So I don’t hurt him… _

 

Connor breaks the door open and rushes over to Hank, forcing Hank to drop the gun. Connor cries, so does Hank. He pulls Hank into a tight hug, almost breaking Hank’s back.

“Don’t die on me yet.”

“I’m nothing for you.”

“You’re everything.” 

“Please don’t love me back.”

 

**_April 10th, 2039; 10:30 AM._ **

Connor had stayed up with Hank for another two hours sobbing and telling him everything he wished Hank could hear, but he only denied it.  _ I’m not worth loving, you deserve better.  _ But to Connor, you couldn’t get better than Hank. They had hugged the entire time under multiple blankets, dried tears were covering each other’s faces and they both were emotionally exhausted. Connor shut off as soon as Hank did, his brain felt fried. When the morning came, Connor was the one being woken up. His face felt disgusting, his lips felt dry and so did his eyes. Hank offered a hand to help him up. He was smiling, somehow. He changed clothes but still looked messed up from last night. You can see every emotion he felt in his eyes. When Connor entered the hallway, Sumo didn’t say a word. He stayed in his bed and watched him from afar, dogs always know when something is wrong. Connor was led to the kitchen, bacon and eggs. Two servings at the table.

“You made breakfast for me?”

“As an apology, for last night.” 

“We’re late for work.”

“I called in sick.”

“...” He sat down at the dinner table, scanning the food. It looked way more edible than his, it wasn’t really crispy and thin. Even though he can’t have human food, he took a bite. It tasted like heaven. An error popped up.

**Warning: Human food is not for consumption.**

Connor didn’t bother with another bite, but instead watched Hank eat. His hands curled around the knife and fork, they were slightly greasy from cooking. He continues to stare while he eats, his interest quite disturbing.

“You gonna eat any more?”

“An error said I shouldn’t, it’s all yours Hank.” He slides the plate to him. Hank just stares at it blankly, this whole morning is just an awkward mess. Connor wanted to tell him every little thing he felt about Hank, like how his presence always brings a sort of softness to a room, and how when Connor just glances at him it riles up his systems. 

Hank just wanted to tell Connor everything he felt for him, like how his hands are so soft to hold, and that he just makes Hank go all blushy, even for someone his age, he still gets butterflies. For Connor. But he still knew Connor wouldn’t him that way, no matter what he did.

Connor just wants to kiss him with everything he has.

“Hey, you OK?”

“I should be asking you that, Hank.”

“I’m fine, I had to put you through that last night. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m glad I got to see your vulnerable side for once.” 

“That’s probably the only time you ever will kid.” 

“Let’s go visit Markus and Simon.”


	9. I've wanted to do that for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so ive recently planned on committing suicide and had a whole thing, so updates will definitely be delayed. sorry

**_April 10th, 2039; 12:34 PM._ **

 

“I’m so glad you two decided to visit, we haven’t had the chance to catch up in  _ ages _ .” Simon says with a huge grin.

“Yeah, we never really got the chance to say thanks for saving North, either.” Markus smiles.

“Thank you so much, we really appreciate it.” Simon holds Connor’s hands for emphasis. “Alright, let’s get down to business.” Simon let’s go and heads for their kitchen. “How did you two start dating?”       ****

Oh god, when did they? And how? They never discussed this beforehand, Connor had honestly forgotten about that whole ordeal. Hank assumingly did as well. They look to each other, Connor grabs his hand and nods to him.

“We started dating a month ago, we were on an investigation about lovers who had died protecting each other. We made some flirty comments and we never really put a label for it. But now it’s kinda obvious, so…” Hank smiles and nods. Connor feels bubbly.

“Aw, how sweet. Honestly when I saw you two right after Connor deviated, I thought you two were dating but I didn’t want to point it out.” Markus jokes.

“Well I have had feelings for him since then…” Hank mumbles, Markus laughs. Simon comes back with some sort of android tea? It’s blue, he slides a cup of regular tea to Hank. The room smells sweet. 

“WHAT. Y’all didn’t tell me that Connor and Hank were coming over!” North runs over to Connor and pulls him into a quick hug. She waves to Hank.

“We thought you were out, sorry.”

“Please, Simon, it’s really fine. I never really stay here anyway.” She smiles, then whispers something to Connor. 

_ “Have you told him yet?” _

_ “No… I haven’t found the right time.”  _

_ “I believe in you hun.”  _ North pulls back. “Well, I have to be off! Have fun you curious couples.” She heads out. 

“Let’s watch a movie! I haven’t had free time in a while.” 

 

Things Connor noticed while watching the movie;

  1. The movie was really interesting, he never thought he’d enjoy it but it was quite good for what it was.
  2. Simon and Markus cuddled the entire time, making him and Hank feel like they had to do that too.
  3. He and Hank cuddled during the movie,  Hank had his arm around his waist and they leaned on each other. It was warm.



 

Overall, Connor hadn’t had such a nice day in a while, so this was a 10/10. 

 

Hank had no idea how he contained himself while the movie was playing, he just wanted to touch Connor. Hold him close and kiss all the moles on his face. He wished it was real, that the story Con told while they talked was real, that his feelings were real. He wanted it to be real. So maybe when the movie ended, he said that they should go, Markus and Simon had fallen asleep anyway. Maybe he was gonna tell Connor everything, or maybe it’ll just be like all the other times of them just sitting in silence.

 

When they got in the car Hank set the address to somewhere they haven’t been in a while, the park, where Hank asked about if he could feel. 

“Why are we going there Hank?”

“I want to show you something.” He punched it in and then they were off.

 

**_April 10th, 2039; 2:30 PM._ **

When they stepped out the car, nobody was there. Not a single person, or even animal. It was empty. And when Hank got out he grabbed Connor’s hand and dragged him to the bench they were at all that time ago. When they sat Connor could feel old raindrops seep into his pants, he could care less. It was silent, the atmosphere was emotionally tense. Connor checked Hank, heart rate was high, breathing fast and anxious. Is this what he thinks it is? Will it be like his fantasies? Soft confession and then a swift kiss? Or will it all be poured out, telling Connor he knows that he likes him but doesn’t feel the same? These thoughts stirred up in his mind, only the worse possibilities coming up. Hank getting angry and shooting him, rejection, abandonment. 

This was what his fear came from, all that it could be.

Hank didn’t really know how to approach this, he was nervous and he just kept thinking of the terrible outcomes. He may as well do it now, the longer he holds it out for the more it’ll hurt. Just get it over with. Just do it. Stop hesitating, you’ll live. Connor takes out his fidget cube, swirling the joystick in circles. He can’t read Connor, he just wants to be able to tell what he’s thinking.

“Connor…” Hank says, his breathing inconsistent. The sky was changing, the blue becoming more orange. He feels his eyes water, he can’t cry! 

Connor doesn’t want to interrupted Hank while he’s talking but... he just wants to steal a kiss. No matter the consequences. 

“I really… I’m sorry.”

“Why?”

“I think I’m in love with you.” Hank finally let’s it out, it was like he was holding his breath for months. Connor’s expression doesn’t show anything. Hank sighs, tears fall. “I’m so sorry.” The man’s hands become wet from the drops. Connor grabs his hand.

Connor presses his palm with Hank’s. They mirror each other. His skin fades away. He really hopes Hank understands.  _ I love you so much.  _ Connor feels like his voice box is broken, he feels like he can’t say anything.  _ I love you, I love you…  _ He wants Hank to be able to hear him.

They stay like that for a bit, staring into each other’s eyes. Connor keeps looking like he’s going to say something. Opening his mouth but nothing coming out. He at least knows one thing. He loves him back.

“Hank.”

“Yeah?”

“I have never felt so happy in my entire life.”

“Fucking hell, come here.” Hank pulls Connor into his chest. They both are burning, Connor buries his face into Hank’s neck, a light kiss.

“I’ve wanted to do that for while.” 

“Kiss my neck?”

“Yeah.”

“Fuckin’ androids.” 

“Can we go home?”

“Yeah.”

  
  
  



	10. Dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey so i dont know if i'll be able to consistently post chapters anymore. i have been having lots of writers block and also my mental illness is catching up to me. i'll post as often as possible but at the moment im really stressed yknow. thank you all for reading

**_April 10th, 2039; 4:00 PM._ **

 

They enter the house, they haven’t said a single thing to each other. But the silence is comfortable, breathable. Sumo jumps onto Connor, covering him in spit. 

“Sumo, down.” He backs off. Hank helps Connor up with his hand. When Connor is completely up Hank doesn’t let go. Instead he twirls Connor around, then pulls him closer. 

“Hank, what are you doing?”

“We’re dancing Connor.”

“I don’t having that in my programming, I wasn’t built for this.”

“Well you weren’t built to deviate were you? C’mon, you’ll like it.” Hank turns on the radio, going through all the stations until he lands on a piano. The melody calming and soft. “This song doesn’t require any choreography, it’ll be nice. Please?” Hank whispers, he sighs and nods. Hank moves one of his hands to his own waist and the other on the his shoulder. Hank copies it on the other side. “Now we just sway, or if you feel like trying something different, I have some good salsa songs.” Hank winks, Connor shudders. They start to move back and forth, side to side, the music playing quietly in the background. Connor leans in,  and drapes himself around Hank. Hank does it back but tighter. Connor scans him, he needs food. And rest. 

“You need to eat…” 

“I don’t need to.”

“Please eat.”

“Fine…” Connor let’s go and goes to the fridge. There’s only leftovers.

“You OK with having leftover spaghetti?” 

“Mhm.” Connor puts it in the microwave, setting it to reheat. He heads back to Hank and holds his hand, gazing deeply into him. Trying to not see all the popups and examinations. He just wanted to see him clearly for once. Regardless things still came up, mainly errors from his systems being overwhelmed by affection. Hank looked him over, his eyes were glossy.

“Are you OK?”

“I’m fine.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re OK.” Hank sighs and drops his forehead on Connor’s shoulder, the sudden weight makes him flinch.

“I’m just scared…”

“Of what?”

“Of me disappointing you, manipulating you, getting you hurt…” Hank sighs again and pulls Connor into a hug.

“You could never do any of that to me Hank, you’ve never hurt me.”

“I have.”

“I didn’t understand then, I wasn’t alive.”

“I still did, you remember it. Threatening you, yelling. Everything.” Hank holds him tighter. 

“You  _ were  _ scared. We have each other now.”

“I don’t want to lose you, I can’t lose another person I love.”

“You won’t. I promise.”  

 

**_April 11th, 2039; 9:00 AM._ **

Connor slept with Hank in his bed, cuddling all night. Connor had gotten up way before Hank so he could make an amazing breakfast and sit with him on the couch a bit before work. He still didn’t understand his urge to sit on Hank, and have him hold him as close as possible. It was all too confusing. He really needs to talk to North about this. Connor finally gets up and out of bed after all his thinking. He fixes the sheets and continues to the kitchen. He starts cooking. He hears the bedroom door creak open, Hank must be awake.

“Hello, did I wake you?”

“You sure as hell did.” Hank says while wrapping his arms around Connor’s waist. Connor’s face feels burnt, and Hank’s thumb is under his shirt. 

**Warning: Overheating.**

**Warning: Sensors overloaded.**

He also kisses the back of his neck. Connor jolts, his whole body had a wave of something electric. Hank mumbles something along the lines of ‘what the fuck?’ but that didn’t stop him from doing it again. And again. Connor’s back would arch almost every time and he did it. It scared Connor, but yet it feels insanely good.

“Hank I’m trying to cook!” 

“So?”

“I could set the house on fire if you keeping doing-!” Connor muffles his noises, Hank sighs.

“OK, I’ll leave you alone now.” Hank chuckles and sits on the couch, patting for Sumo to come up. The dog clambors on Hank, his giant paws covering the majority of his lap. Connor continues to cook, eggs and cheese. A simple yet delicious breakfast. When finished he leaves it on the stove to cool while grabbing a plate and a glass of juice for Hank. He hands Hank the meal and tries squeezing between Sumo and Hank but instead Sumo only clings to him more.

“Sumo, please move.” Connor pouts.

“Sumo, up.” He immediately responds to Hank, jumping off back to his bed. Connor happily steals the seat and cuddles up to Hank. Connor had a word to describe this feeling; bliss. He hoped this is how they could live like this for the rest of their lives, rested on the couch, Sumo snoring in the corner.  _ Perfect.  _ Then he realizes something…  _ we haven’t kissed yet. Oh my god- we didn’t at the park? Or last night when we danced?  _ Connor’s brows furrowed from his memory bank being shifted, all his fantasies got mixed with real memories. Now his drive was even stronger, he  _ needs  _ too. Or maybe Hank doesn’t want to? Maybe he’ll wait till Hank wants to… No, he can’t wait to do it. He’ll wait until the right moment comes up, that’s all he think he can muster. 

“I don’t wanna go to work today.”

“Me too, but we can’t miss another day. Apparently there’s a new case, so we won’t be just organizing files at our desks.” 

“Finally, something to do.”


End file.
